Evaluation of Religious Ideas and Beliefs of Extremist and Terrorist Groups in the Islamic WorldCase Studies: ISIS and Al-Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra)

In recent decades, some extremist and terrorist groups have evolved in some Islamic countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Syria that have committed extensive violent and terrorist measures. Almost all these groups have Salafi ideological and religious ideas affiliated with Wahhabi and Deobandi sects on which they justify their activities. The most important extremist and terrorist groups, affiliated with Wahhabi and Deobandi movements are ISIS and Al-Nusr Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) which have significantly grown in Iraq and Syria and are extending the purview of their influence by the supports of Arab countries in the region. The growth of the activities and the extension of influence of these two groups – which have many similarities – have had destructive strategic consequences for the Islamic world. This article – which is rendered in descriptive-analytical method – while evaluating religious ideas and beliefs of these two groups, examines and analyzes their methods of leverage and the geopolitical consequences of their presence and growth in Islamic countries. The findings show that although ISIS and Al-Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) have many similarities, they use different tactics for extension of their influence in the Islamic world. On the other hand, the growth and spread of these movements in the Islamic world has entailed geopolitical consequences such as growth and expansion of terrorism and terrorist attacks, violence and religious sectarianism, negative portrayal of Islam and Muslims (Islamophobia), and finally, the increase of bankrupt Islamic countries and decrease of geopolitical weight of Islamic world.